Friday, October 07, 2011

Answer: It depends on what system of property relations governs the spouses, whether absolute community of property (ACP), conjugal partnership of gains (CPG), or complete separation of property.

For Filipinos who got married after August 3, 1988 (the date the Family Code of the Philippines became effective), their system is most probably absolute community of property. Why? Because most Filipinos get married without knowing that they can choose their system of property relations.

Under the system of absolute community of property, all properties belonging to the man and woman, at the time of the celebration of their marriage, automatically become part of their community property (see Article 91 of the Family Code). All properties acquired during their marriage are also community property, with certain exceptions under Article 92.

So, assuming that the system of property relations between you and your spouse is absolute community of property (ACP):

If

then

(1) you inherited the property before the marriage …

it is part of the community property, even if:

the title to the property still remains in the name of the person from whom you inherited the property;

the title to the property has been transferred to your name; or

the property remains titled in your name all throughout your marriage.

(2) you inherited the property during the marriage …

it is not part of the community property since it was acquired by gratuitous title as provided under Article 92 of the Family Code; the exception is when the testator (the person who gave you the property through a last will) expressly provided that it will be community property.

About Me

Friends of Legal Updates

Related blog

Marital infidelity: causes, consequences and conclusions; Mediation not allowed in domestic violence cases (with apologies to Pia Guanio); Why marriages fail: He said, She said; Transformers: Why do persistent suitors become passive husbands? How to save your marriage alone; All about women; Why do men think the things they think, say the things they say, and do the things they do? Surviving marital infidelity; Legal lessons from Willie Revillame and Liz Amoro; Marriage: The Ultimate Fighting Championship; Boundaries in marriage; and other articles.

Color or black and white?

I took these pictures when I was a journalism teacher and yearbook adviser in Rizal High School in Pasig City, Metro Manila, Philippines from 1984 to 1995. Rizal High School was once credited in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest high school. Hello to all Rizalians!

Getting married? Take a look at what “covenant marriage” is all about

“Marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman who agree to live together as husband and wife for as long as they both live. We have chosen each other carefully and have received premarital counseling on the nature, purposes and responsibilities of marriage. We understand that a covenant marriage is for life.”